The Cat and the Asylum
by SuperSonic22
Summary: Arkham Asylum has a new member to the infamous Rogues Gallery...but why exactly was he brought there? What secrets does he keep? Who will he side with? And above all...will he be able to get out alive? (Author note: Chapters are being looked over, edited, and updated since I now have time)
1. First Impressions

Dr. Johnson hated new arrivals, especially when they were so late at night and even more so when he was just about to walk out of the door and go home. Out of all the nights some lunatic could pick, why tonight? The African-American man walked out of his office towards the examination room in a huff, hoping to God his wife wasn't going to get angry over missing dinner with their new neighbors; between a psychopath interview and dinner with some strangers, he would rather deal with the latter and be done with Arkham altogether.

"Alright, what's the story with this one?"

Johnson never broke his stride as he took his glasses out of his uniform pocket and muddled through the folder that had been placed on his desk earlier. There wasn't much on this one other than certain reports made by a couple civilians and the cab driver's report, and even those had scarcely anything. Opening the door, he walked to his usual chair and pressed a button for the intercom outside to know he had arrived.

After a few minutes the door opened and a large burly man in a security uniform entered. Before fully coming into the room, he turned to grab the "psycopath" behind him from the other security guard and plunked him into the only other chair in the room before walking to a corner near the door, keeping watch as stiff as a statue.

Dr. Johnson turned his attention to the young man in front of him and raised an eyebrow, a keen interest already growing. The minute the new arrival had walked in, the doctor had already begun an analysis of the patient based on his first appearance and started to take notes. As all good doctors here at Arkham had learned, sometimes the first appearance led to understanding a bit about the patient and their background, mental stability, and all sorts of other hidden secrets the patient may not want to share. True some were harder to decipher than others, but trying was always half the battle.

Starting with basic first glances, the man looked like a fairly normal twenty something year old. His skin was a healthy light tan and his well-toned body made it clear that he at least worked out every day. Orange hair was swept up in a sideways motion on either side of his face, faint black patterns running through it as if they were tiger stripes of some sort. _An interesting hairstyle, but Arkham had seen stranger things in these walls._

Moving from his face and examining the upper body, he noted a black tank top that had seen better days. Due to the conditin of it, some of his upper body was visible and it was riddled with scars. _Come to think of it, his whole body other than his face seemed to be scarred up pretty well. Could this individual be part of a gang? Maybe he was abused as a child?_

Thankfully, unlike the last patient Johnson had before his supposed end of the day, the patient was civil enough to wear a pair of pants. The pants themselves looked like a pair of dark grey jeans that were as ripped as the tank top the man had on. A red sash-like belt held up the pants and the Chinese symbol engraved on the belt buckle completed his attire. _Symbols always were intriguing as they gave a better insight into how the patient thought or what interested them. Wonder what this one meant..?_

The sound of the guard clearing his throat made Johnson blink; how long had he been writing notes ?

Clearing his throat, the doctor looked the arrival in the eye and was about to say something when he slightly recoiled. Those eyes…they were clearly something Johnson had not expected. Dark green irisis were shadowed by a pupil that was slitted, almost like a cat of some kind.

Those feline eyes were contacts...right?

"So, nice weather hmm?"

Johnson waited for a response, but the man simply blinked and never took his eyes off of the doctor. Apparently small talk wasn't working on this subject...which overall was not very surprising; many people started with this phrase whenever something more serious was on the topics list. He had meant to ease the arrival into a conversation but it seemed a different approach was in order.

"Alright, well can I have your name? I think it would be easier to talk to you if I knew your name."

The man brought his hands, which were hadcuffed for safety reasons, up to the table as if to change his sitting position, yet he stayed silent. Looking at them, Johnson realized that where fingernails would be, claws were slightly retracting and popping out. This man was definitely not normal...was he some kind of mutant or an alien?

No, now was not the time to assume such stupid things. The claws could have been a birth defect or some sort of gentic testing gone wrong. There was always a logical explanation for everything, and there was an explanation as to why this man was here in Arkham today.

However, after many more minutes of silence, it seemed this one didn't want to talk at all. Johnson was getting nowhere and his frustration was growing. Looking over at the guard, he was about to ask him to remove the new arrival when he noticed the man was trying to speak. After a few attempts, the arival swallowed and coughed a bit. Thinking for a moment, he motioned at the water cooler in the corner.

"You want something to drink?"

The man nodded and watched as Johnson filled the cup with water and sat it on the table. Looking att eh guard, Johnson nodded and waited as the guard rolled his eyes and walked over to help the arrival drink.

A few sips later, the man cleared his throat and nodded, waiting for the guard to go back tot he corner before he cleared his throat again.

"Thank you. You have been the first person to do something kind for me since I arrived here."

Johnson smiled slightly; he was finally making some progress and getting through to him. The voice was a bit gruff due to probable thirst, but Johnson knew he could help with that thanks to the water cooler.

"Well, Im glad I could finally have a chance to talk to you properly" Johnson chuckled. "I must say you are one of the more happier people I have met today."

The man blinked, unmoving as when he first arrived.

Johnson's smile dropped and he sighed a bit, getting a bit nervous from how the arrival's eyes had so serious and unemotional the whole time he had been here.

"So...may I please have your name?"

The man shifted a bit as if he was contemplating whether or not to say his name. Finally he seemed to sigh and reclined a bit.

"My name is Tai"

The doctor sighed with relief; even if it wasnt his real name, any name was good to go on right now.

"Well Tai, thank you for telling me your name. May I please also ask something about your...appearence?"

Tai blinked and tilted his head curiously, "What I am is what you see before you with your own two eyes. How is there any confusion?"

Johnson raised an eyebrow, "But what may that be? I mean to me you look…"

The arrival suddenly realized what Johnson was saying and he seemed to slump a bit, his brow furrowing. And from under the table, a tail suddenly swayed upwards and flicked irritably. "My appearance upsets you?"

Johnson's eye twitched slightly, this was slowly not going well at all. His confirms on something..inhuman...were finally starting to unfortunately enough become a reality. Of all the nights, why did it have to be a freak?

Tai raised himself upright again, his demeanor changing as he frowned and his eyes narrowed even more. "Why am I here?"

The doctor did his best to relax, adjusting the papers on the table that he until just now forgot about. He was easier to talk to then the man who riddled or that insane clown, but his rising anger wasn't helping the interview at all. Not only that, but now he was asking the question that was always hard to answer if you were a doctor for an asylum for the insane.

"The reason why you are here is because of a few things. Other than your little incident with the cabbie and people around the car at the time-"

The inhuman snarled, his teeth gritted in rage as he quickly stood up and slammed his fists on the desk...which didnt help Johnson at all as he saw that the teeth themselves were sharp and pointy, finishing off the feline appearance.

"All I asked was where I could stop for a bite to eat and a hotel to stay in!"

Seeing the sudden change in the arrival's demeanor, the guard took a step forward and placed his had on the riot baton strapped to his waist. But johnson was quicker and he raised his hand to both try and calm the cat human down and to let the guard know that he was alright for the time being. "There is no need to shout. I believe you, but the problem is people are not used to…things like you."

Tai's eyes narrowed menacingly, making Johnson feel a trickle of sweat go down his brow. Maybe he should not have said that last phrase.

"Listen…Tai was it?" Johnson knew backtracking was the only option, "The best thing to do right now is to wait and find out why you are here and when you can leave. Should only be a few days or so and then you can go. Understand?"

The inhuman continued to glare at Johnson as he sat down, immediately looking at the glass the water and going back to the silent treatment as Johnson motioned for the guard to take him to his quarters. Forcefully, the guard picked Tai up by one of his shoulders and scowled at him as if waiting for the cat-human to make a move of escape, but Tai let himself be taken out of Johnson's examination room and be led down the hall towards wherever his new supposed "living quarters" were.

Johnson watched the two go down the hall and finally sighed wih relief, wiping his brow. The poor guy; one day in Gotham City and he is already with the freaks. Hope the Rogues Gallery doesn't make its mark on him too much…

But the freak was no longer his concern. Now he had to worry about his wife and a cold dinner that was presumably waiting for him at home.


	2. The Rogues Gallery

**(( Wassup everyone? Sorry it took forever to write this chapter. I was out of town for half of December and iv been busy with New Years and whatnot...but I promise I ain't slacking off! BIG THANKS to Sunrise Phoenix for help with who is in the cell's around Tai. I needed the help hahaha)) **

For what seemed like forever, the guard led Tai through Arkham's many passageways and staircases. A few times, their progress was stopped due to other guards restraining an inmate or taking their time moving out of the way. Some of the inmates themselves looked at the cat human through the glass windows or barred doors of their cells and jeered him as he passed, clearly showing their disgust or curiosity at the newest arrival.

Tai suddenly bumped into something solid and quickly looked up, noticing he had walked into the guard that had been his native guide through the unknown building. The guard sneered at the new inmate and pushed him ahead, making him stand in front of two large metal doors with a small sign on the top that read "The Rogues Gallery". From within the passageway, the sound of a laugh echoed from the door and though it was muffled, it sounded twisted and evil.

"Well? What are you waiting for, Christmas?" The guard shoved Tai through the doors roughly, making him growl in response. After a few feet, the doors were shut, and the inhuman huffed as he looked around. Sensing something watching him, he looked up at one of the security cameras and glared at it, baring his teeth so whoever was watching would know that he didn't appreciate this whole night whatsoever. But at least he was alone and it was quiet.

...Or so he thought…

As soon as he turned back to start walking down the so-called "gallery", he realized that he was far from being alone. Every cell seemed occupied with people and things of all shapes and sizes that only the imagination could create and they were all looking at him, observing and sizing him up. Tai didn't bother to meet any of their eyes or say anything; he knew better then to make any enemies on the first day by looking at them funny or something. The inhuman looked up as he neared an open cell a ways down the passageway near the middle of the room, noting with a frown that it was probably his.

A couple cells before his own, the sound of a coin being flipped cut the silence, followed by a mumble of annoyance as the coin rolled into the path ahead of Tai. He stopped momentarily to pick up the coin and looked over at the cell from where it had come from. As soon as Tai saw the man's face, he recoiled from surprise.

"What are YOU lookin' at, feline?" the two-faced man growled, the normal side of his face glaring as the other disfigured side stayed almost motionless.

Tai regained his senses and opened his hand, the coin softly placed in his palm, heads up. The disfigured man looked at the coin and narrowed his eyes before snatching it out of his hand, growling as he continued to glare at the inhuman until he was past his cell, the sound of the coin being flipped resuming.

Eventually the inhuman made it to the open cell and heard the door close automatically. As soon as the doors shut, noise had returned into the gallery as if everyone had waited to see what he would have done on his first day and now had lost interest immediately after nothing happened. Ignoring the voices, Tai walked over to the cot that he would soon be sleeping on and tested it with one of his hands, frowning at how under stuffed it was. The pillow was hard as well, but he figured it would just be something he would have to get used to.

"Hey, new guy! Over here!"

Tai turned around and he was greeted by the smiling face of a girl with blonde hair pulled into pigtails in the cell across from his own. Her blue eyes locked with his and the smile fell from her face as she stared at him in awe. "Golly…the docs weren't kiddin' about ya looks. You're a pussycat from head to tail!"

Tai felt himself be taken aback by the surprisingly friendly gesture the girl was giving him, even if he didn't know whether or not it was a compliment or an insult. And he was also surprised at how she knew about him being here, though he figured it was due to the news being spread by other inmates and the other doctor's daily gossip.

Before he could make a reply, the girl grinned again, "So, you got a name that isn't cutesy or somethin'?"

Tai nodded and smiled slightly as he bowed in respect. Her enthusiasm was infectious.

"My name is Tai. Pleasure to meet you, Miss…?"

Harley smirked at his bow, "Name is Harley Quinn! And don't worry about bein' formal and whatever, just call me Harley okay?"

"Alright then, I will remember that" Tai sat down at the wall so he could face his new "roommate" and was about to consider a conversation with the woman when a voice cut off his thoughts.

"One minute in the looney bin, and you have already made a friend…how touching."

Tai looked at the right of Harley and realized that the cell wasn't empty; laying on the bed facing the opposite wall was a man dressed in a green business suit and hat. "But let The Riddler ask you something: Why was the cat thrown in with the dogs, when apparently it did not belong?"

Another voice from the cell next to Tai on his right groaned, "Not now Riddler…I'm actually trying to get some rest for once and your riddles are keeping me awake ."

The Riddler looked over at the cell and frowned. "Oh come now, Cobblepot! I'm asking our new friend here, not you." He turned his body, as well as his gaze, to Tai and smiled. "Don't mind the feather brain. He's always cranky when he hasn't stretched his wings for a while."

"Hey!" Harley pouted angrily. "I was talkin' to him first, leprechaun! You can't just barge in on a conversation like that, that's rude!" Her eyes closed tightly as she stuck her tongue out at him…even though he couldn't see it.

"Will all of you just zip it?" The cell from Tai's left thumped as something heavy hit against it.

"Why don't YOU shut up, Croc?" Cobblepot squawked. "You weren't even involved in this from the start!"

And then they were all arguing: Harley, The Riddler, Penguin, and Killer Croc. Their voices echoed through the gallery and others soon joined in…some wanted to shut the others up for a bit of peace and quiet while others egged on the argument to apply to other inmates for a bit of fun.

Tai on the other hand simply closed his eyes and tried to drown out the voices as he felt himself begin to meditate. Meditating always seemed to help calm his mind when he needed to keep his senses together. Since he was a child, he had learned that finding the balance in everything helped you see clearly and feel the harmony of the universe. True, to some it was just something to joke about, but to one who understood the meditative state…

Before he could get further however, the sound of a bell going off jostled him from his mental state and Harley's voice tugged him back to reality.

"It's time to eat, wake up pussycat!"

The inhuman blinked a few times before standing up and looking over at the now open cell door. Harley stood waiting for him and smiled as he made his way out cautiously.

"Relax, they are letting us out for some exercise and nourishment." Her voice sounded happy about getting out of her cell, but her face told a completely different story.

"You don't seem very thrilled about this." Tai looked around as the rest of the inmates of the Rogues Gallery made their way through the passageway toward another set of doors on the opposite side of the corridor. The assortment of figures he saw stunned him; The man with the months of a calendar tattooed on his head. A man with a black skull for a face. A man carrying a wooden puppet dressed as a mobster. A living scarecrow. These were just a few of the strange beings he was going to come across.

"Yeah let's just say the food ain't all that great. I have had better slop then what this place is cooking." Harley's tongue stuck out in disgust. "But hey, if ya gotta eat, you gotta eat, right?"

Tai felt himself be pushed slightly to the side by a man with a large top hat. "Yeah, I know that feeling all too well." He as the man with the large hat looked back at him and quickly looked away when he had caught a glimpse. The way the hat on his head stayed up there was quite intriguing.

Losing interest, his gaze looked once again towards Harley's direction, but she was nowhere to be found. Searching the row of inmates for her, he spotted the blonde talking to a red-headed woman that looked like a living plant. The woman and Harley laughed at something the red head had said, and then they disappeared into the crowd.

* * *

><p><strong>As he waited in line to get the daily dose of the supposed gruel this place had to offer, Tai noted that the cafeteria was a big place. Looking past some of the inmates that stood ahead of him, he sniffed at the smell of the awaiting food and gagged a bit, feeling bile rise into his throat. Harley was right to not look forward to mealtimes…<strong>

Picking up his tray, he looked at the chef and then back at the food, wrinkling his nose as it sloshed into a bowl and served to him. The chef showed no emotion as she finished, looking at the next one in line behind him when she was done.

"Talk about service with a smile…" Tai grumbled to himself as he went out of line and looked for a place to sit. All around the room, benches and tables were nearly full with inmates eating, talking or doing some other random thing they thought was normal. In a corner of the room however, there was a table with the other half completely empty. Sighing with relief at his luck of not being around too many of these strange individuals, he made his way to the table and sat down quietly.

The others at the end of the large table were apparently in the middle of some heated debate and Tai couldn't help but listen in. He didn't like to eavesdrop, but the inhuman knew that in this place the main daily gossip may be what keeps him alive and conscious of his surroundings. The conversation he was hearing at the moment was not at all interesting, but here and there he had picked up interesting information about the others in The Gallery. He had learned that the walking scarecrow (or Dr. Crane as some called him) was indeed a doctor before he had turned to a life of crime, and that the portly Penguin was one Oswald Cobblepot, a rich man in Gotham that always had something hidden in an umbrella or two he always carried. The rest of the info gathered wasn't much, but it was enough to help him figure out faces to names and who he should and shouldn't talk to.

He suddenly felt a presence come up and as he turned his attention away from the hushed group, the man with the ridiculously large hat was standing there across the table . He smiled at Tai in a friendly manner before clearing his throat, "I-I'm sorry, is this seat taken?"

Tai shook his head and began to study the man in front of him as he sat down. He was actually shorter then Tai remembered seeing him in the crowd, but he suspected that it was due to his rather large hat. His red hair seemed to lie across his face at one side, and he brushed it out of the way as his other hand reached out toward Tai in a handshake manner.

"Jervis Tetch."

Tai peered at the man's hand before taking it, realized he only had one glove. His gaze then went back to the hat and he only took his eyes off it when Jervis spoke again in a cautious and nervous manner, clearly suspecting that Tai was up to something.

"I-Is something wrong, sir?"

"Sorry. It's just…your hat is very intriguing."

Tetch's worry disappeared and was replaced with a grin. "Ah! I see you have a liking to it?" He seemed rather excited about the fact that the newcomer had taken notice and took the hat off, sitting it on the table in front of him. "I have always liked hats and other headgear since I was a child. This one especially is one of my favorites. It doesn't have as many doodads and bobbles as my other hats but it certainly keeps me warm and secure in this dreary place."

"So what did you get inspiration from?" Tai tried to take his eyes off the hat as he spoke, "The Mad Hatter from _Alice in Wonderland_?"

Tetch's eyes lit up and his grin widened, "Why yes, that is where my inspiration came from! For a cat, you are more well-read then I thought…then again the Cheshire cat was fairly witty and devilish to a point."

Tai was about to make a reply, but he was cut off by the sound of something heavy trod up next to Jervis, the air around them suddenly growing a bit cold. A man in a metallic cryogenic suit thumped onto the bench, the cold seeming to ripple off of him.

"Hello Jarvis. I see you have met with the newcomer."

"Indeed I have!" Jarvis smiled at the metal man and nodded at Tai. "Tai, this is Victor Fries; or as Gotham has cleverly called him, Mr. Freeze."

"Pleasure to meet you," Tai responded as he reached for the food again. He figured he may as well try it before it got too cold, especially when Mr. Freeze was around. Picking up his fork, he lightly poked the food cautiously as he continued to look in Fries' direction.

"How long have you been in Arkham? I don't remember you being here yesterday."

Jarvis spoke up, "He just arrived today. For what though, I have no idea." His raised an eyebrow in Tai's direction and frowned a bit, clearly curious and suspicious.

"Yeah, what'cha do to get in this joint?" Harley had now joined the table along with the red headed plant woman, who sat down next to Tai on his left while Harley took the right.

At this point, Tai had forgotten the food as he stared at the small group that had gathered to quench their curiosity. For a few seconds, he was speechless as he tried to figure out what he should tell them. The truth would have sounded ridiculous to a group of super-villains.

"What's the hold up, tiger?" the plant woman's voice was soft, like a rose petal in the rain.

"I am also quite curious as to how you ended up here." Fries leaned onto the table, his arms crossed. "It is not every day we get a new member to our Rouges Gallery."

"I have no idea why I'm here." Tai finally shrugged

"What do you mean you don't know?" Jarvis and Harley asked at the same time, both apparently confused and a bit secretly disappointed by his statement.

Tai was about to reply when a ringing sound went off over the intercom and a gruff voice issued that the mealtime was over. In only a few seconds, everyone stood up and had begun walking back towards the hallway they had come from when they first arrived. Back at the table, Fries had stood up silently and had started on his way while Jarvis stood up while picking up his hat.

"We must continue our conversation later," he stated, "Ta-ta for now, Cheshire cat!"

Tai blinked; it wasn't even the first full day in the asylum and he already had a nickname.

Harley meanwhile was still in deep thought about Tai's response as she sat there, leaving the plant woman to roll her eyes and get up to try and lead the blonde back to her cell. Seeing Tai sit there, she smirked and put her hands on her hips as she waited for him and her friend.

"You coming? Or are you going to go play with some string and a mouse?"

"I don't think I got your name." Tai ignored her remark as he picked the fork back up and had brought some of the food to his mouth.

"Name is Poison Ivy. And I wouldn't eat that if I were you; I don't eat what they serve here but even I don't know or trust what is in that slop."

"I'm used to taking risks," He put the food in his mouth and started to chew it slowly. It wasn't as bad as they made it out to be, unless they hated how chewy it was. He took a few more bites and then pushed the plate away, getting up to follow behind Harley and Poison Ivy.

"Huh? Wait about risks for what?" Harley had finally snapped out of her deep thinking and looked around at what was going on, confused as to how Ivy had gotten her up and walking without her realizing it.

"I don't see why you all made a big fuss over the food. It wasn't that bad."

"Wait for it." Poison Ivy still had that smirk on her face.

Right as the plant woman had finished speaking, Tai felt his stomach suddenly go a complete one-eighty. The food wasn't bad going down, but now he felt like it was slowly eating his insides. Whatever the cooks had put into it was clearly not approved by any health inspector beforehand. He clenched his stomach in pain and growled.

"I warned you didn't I?" Ivy chuckled at him and walked into her cell, turning her attention to some plants that needed watering . As the cell door closed, Tai could have sworn he had heard her talking to them.


	3. The First Night

It had been a few hours since mealtime and Tai's stomach had somewhat gotten back to normal. Groaning, he tossed and turned on his cot as he tried to get a good nights' sleep, but Arkham had apparently considered that tonight would be one without such luxuries.

Sitting up and moving to the edge of the bed, the inhuman realized that the Gallery had fallen silent. He stood in front of his cell's door and peeked out, looking down both directions, hearing no one. He shivered; without the others to keep things interesting and occupying, the asylum seemed like a tomb.

A noise from somewhere made Tai jump, but as he looked towards Harley's cell, he sighed with relief. The Harlequin had just woken up from a nap, falling out of the bed. Holding her head and mumbling to herself, she looked up and smiled groggily as she noticed him.

"Hiya kitty; how was ya sleepy time?"

"It was…alright. Just loving the atmosphere here at night," Tai smirked.

Harley rolled her eyes. "Oh don't worry about them. They are all either pretending to sleep or just mindin' their own business. This always happens."

Tai nodded and stayed silent for a bit, trying to figure out what to talk about. He had never talked to anyone this long…in a prison cell…

"So!" Tai had been snapped out of his thoughts by the harlequin, now leaning against the cell door with a smile. "What's **your** story?"

"Pardon?"

"Why ya here and why you look like that? Carnival freakshow? Mutation through science?"

Tai bit his lip slightly. "I was…born like this."

Her eyes widened. "Say wha? Wait…you were **born** like that?"

"Yeah…unless someone told me wrong."

"Huh…well that musta been a shock to your folks, huh?" Harley giggled.

For a while, an awkward silence filled the void between the two until Harley yawned loudly, laying on her back on the bunk with her eyes closed.

"Well Kitty Kat, I'm gonna get some shut eye. Sleep tight and whatever."

Tai on the other hand stayed where he was, watching the harlequin sleep for a bit before he turned around and laid on the cold ground. Feeling his eyes start to close, he stared at the barren wall until sleep overtook him.

* * *

><p>Harley opened her eyes after a while and stared at the ceiling of her cell, thoughts running rampant in her mind. The new guy seemed alright if not a bit strange…cat people were certainly the last thing she expected to see. But then again, by now nothing really surprised her anymore. From her exploits as the henchwoman to the Clown Prince of Crime, she had met a really large cast of fellow weirdos.<p>

But he seemed different. Like a flower in the rubble of a war torn city or like a patch of sunlight through gray clouds, Tai was innocent in a world of chaos. He didn't even know why he was there in the first place…

Was there something he was hiding; a dark secret that may haunt her if she ever found out? Harley really wished he did…she loved that kind of stuff almost as much as she loved the Joker.

Speaking of Joker…

Harley looked to the maximum security cell that he was usually locked up in and frowned sadly. Her puddin' had escaped again a few days before Tai's arrival and he had forgotten to take her along. She wished he had taken her with him...especially if he was going to put his latest scheme into action. They both had planned this gig for almost two years and every time a new piece of info or thought crossed their minds, they shared it with a sinister glee. If all went to plan…

The sound of a guard walking by her cell made the harlequin blink out of her thoughts and she lazily looked out as he passed, whistling that same annoying tune. He sounded like a mosquito…and she really wished she could get rid of the pest with her mallet….

As she watched the guard, her gaze fell upon the sleeping form of Tai. At first, she was curious as to why he chose to sleep on the ground but shrugged it off as she continued to observe him. The inhuman certainly was an interesting subject to look at.

As a former doctor of Arkham Asylum, Doctor Harleen Quinzel still had her scientific curiosity with the psychology of a lot of inmates that were placed here. She had figured out a lot of Rogues Gallery and would secretly laugh at her fake innocently stupid routines she gave everyone. Only Joker knew just how messed up and cunning she really was underneath…

She wanted to know what made Tai tick. She wanted to know why he acted like he did and whatever else she could get outta him. She wanted to know everything about him…

Harley shook her head with a smile. "_Oh Harley_", she thought, "_the things you do when you are lonely and bored…_"

_**((sorry for the looong delay inbetween chapters on this one :( i was trying to finish the "Bakura: dead and loving it" story and i have also been busy with other matters. But here you go my friends, a TASTE of what may be coming soon!))**_


	4. The Bat and the Clown

Tai was jarred out of his sleep by the sound of laughter from somewhere in the asylum. It has started as a low chuckle, but soon it was so loud it felt as if the person was sitting next to the inhuman in the cell!

Sitting up, he walked to the door of his cell and peeked out, his eyes widening with confusion as the other inmates seemed to be glued to their cell doors, wanting to get a peek at something coming down the hall. Harley however was one of the strangest of all; her face was contorted into a grin that was both happy beyond words and somewhat "lovey-dovey" and she hugged her pillow tightly.

"Mista' J. is back!"

Before Tai could ask Ms. Quinn about what she was talking about, the door leading to the Gallery burst open with a bang and the insane laughter echoed off the walls and doors. A small army of security guards ran down the hallway and ended up at the heaviest cell door he had ever seen.

"Good morning, Arkham! Where's the electro shock therapy?! I'm in the mood for a shocking good time!"

The laughing continued and soon a clown with green hair and a purple suit was being pushed through the hallway. Every step he took, he was either chuckling or laughing to himself or to the other inmates. His hands were handcuffed in front of him and the chains and cuffs themselves looked to be made of some of the heaviest and sturdiest metal the inhuman had ever seen.

The look of the clown made Tai's skin crawl. Something about him…didn't seem right at all.

As he passed, the inhuman and the clown locked eyes. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as the Joker grinned at Tai, his eyes narrowed to slits menacingly.

"A new face added to the Gallery, eh? Well, the more the merrier as I always say!"

His mood changed when he looked toward Harley's cell and grinned, "Harley! So that's where you were; I was wondering where my little helper was!"

Harley seemed to swoon in her cell and grinned lovingly at the clown as he passed. If this was some sort of comic book or cartoon, Tai swore he would have seen floating hearts above the harlequin's head.

By the time the notorious clown had made it to his cell, all of the inmates had become the butt of one joke or another. But none had even considered talking back to him in some way or another, they all seemed…cautious. That is what word Tai was thinking of when he saw their faces.

They were all cautious of the purple suited clown. Either that…or they were terrified…

Something glinting near Joker's cuffs suddenly caught Tai's attention. No sooner had the cell doors opened did Joker smile maliciously and raised his hands up above his head.

"Whew! I am so stiff in these! When do these mousetraps come off, chief?"

The lead security guard's lip curled, "They come off once you are in that cell, you psychopath."

Joker made a gasp and put a hand to his chest, seemingly offended. But when he did so, the cuffs slowly fell off of his thin white wrists. And before the guard could respond, the Joker made a slashing motion and the guard crumpled to the floor, his throat slit open.

With a gleeful cackle, the clown began to spin in a circle and swiftly took a gun out of his coat, pulling the trigger quicker than any human Tai had ever seen. But instead of bullets, a green gas seemed to pour out of the barrel that enveloped the guards around him.

The other inmates hid their faces from the gas and covered their mouths as best as they could. Tai followed his example and to his surprise…the guards started to laugh. It started as a few chuckles but soon every guard was holding his side, their faces contorted into sinister grins that no human could ever be able to make naturally.

As the guards fell down either unconscious, or dead as Tai feared, The Joker danced about his work and lifted the lead security guard up so they were eye to eye.

"Aw, seems someone couldn't hold in their gas! Better lay off the beans for a while, Jeeves!"

Dropping the man at his feet, Joker strode towards the door with a jig in his step, grinning from ear to ear at his handiwork.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen, it's been fun but I fear I must leave so soon! Got a date with-"

His words were cut off as a dark shadow seemed to loom over the entire Gallery. Joker himself had stopped in his tracks and stared at what was looming in the doorway leading to the rest of the asylum.

The shadow had belonged to a huge pitch black figure with white glowing eyes and pointed ears. Around its body was some sort of wings…or was that a cape…

"It's the bat!" Two-Face seemed to snarl.

In a movement as quick as or quicker than Joker had pulled the gun, the demonic bat had seemed to glide towards the clown as he backed up slowly.

"Ah, bats! Wonderful to see you, but I was just leaving…"

The Joker threw his arm to punch the shadow in front of him, but it simply dodged and threw a punch of its own. Tai heard the wind being knocked out of the clown's chest and he grunted, holding his stomach in pain. Another punch came soon after and the clown was on the ground, blood dripping from his mouth.

"Whaddya think ya doin to Mista' J. you ugly bat?!"

Harley had leaped to the cell door and was glaring at the Bat with a look that would kill if words had that power. The bat however simply turned slowly to Harley and its eyes narrowed to slits, making the harlequin bite her lip quickly.

"I gotta say pointy ears…" Joker chuckled and tried to rise back up, "You still got the punch in the ol' punch line!"

The Batman leaned down and grabbed Joker, raising him up before he started dragging him across the floor toward his cell.

As it passed Tai's cell, the Batman looked at the inhuman before turning his gaze back to the cell door. Tai felt himself shiver, that gaze could freeze someone's heart cold.

After being thrown into the cell, the Joker grinned evilly. No words were exchanged between the two as the doors slammed shut and the shadowy Bat started walking out of the Gallery. As it passed the cells, the inmates sneered or snarled at him, clearly unhappy about his appearance.

No sooner had the Bat walked out of the Gallery did another group of security guards had come in to clean up the mess Joker had made. They all shook their heads at the head guard and mumbled things to themselves as they worked.

"It's soo hard to find good help nowadays isn't it?"

The Joker's voice was heard through his heavy security door and even though Tai couldn't see him, he knew he clown was grinning from ear to ear as he chuckled cruelly at his joke.


	5. Breakfast in Arkham

_**((Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Im sorry it has been a while since I have posted, but I have been really busy and also this chapter has had me stuck for a while. Get ready for the next chapter everyone, it's gonna be a bumpy ride from here on out for our main inhuman, Tai!))**_

He sensed a change in the air of Arkham; his feline instincts weren't even needed to figure out that something was up with the others. But what the feeling was exactly he could not place. The sadistic clown and the mysterious bat creature had made an impact on the Gallery, that much was certain. And as he slowly fell asleep on his cot, hundreds of thoughts ran in his head.

The click of the cell door locks opening however cut off the inhuman's thoughts, rousing him from the recesses of his mind. With a groan, he rubbed his temples and stood up to follow the others into the cafeteria for breakfast. Everyone was silently talking amongst themselves and looking back towards the heavy security door that housed the asylum's most infamous occupant.

"Now we won't get any sleep around here…," the one known as Ragdoll groaned as he gracefully rolled under Tai's legs to cut in front of him, continuing his race to the front by flipping and bending around the other inmates.

The rest of the wait to get food was uneventful to say the least and Tai was thankful that he could finally sit somewhere where he could be alone. Finding a corner of the room, he sat down and started to cautiously eat his food. Today, the food wasn't as bad as yesterday's slop and he sighed with relief that he could actually put food in his stomach.

"Is this seat taken?"

Tai's feeling of peacefulness and silence was broken by a voice dripping with honey. He didn't even need to look to guess who it might have been, but he was still visibly surprised at her arrival as he shook his head.

Poison Ivy smiled and sat down next to him, putting her unique plate of food in front of her. "I don't think we have been properly introduced have we? I'm Pamela Isley. What's your name?"

After a few moments of hesitation, Tai responded. "I'm Tai…nice to meet you."

Ivy giggled slightly, "Such good manners! I'm quite surprised that someone in a place like this has such things."

Tai twitched a smirk from her comment and took another bite of food. "So…what manner of being are you? I mean, I see you in your cell with all of those plants…"

"I'm a scientist," Ivy responded nonchalantly.

"What kind?"

The plant woman raised an eyebrow, "I'm a botanist and biochemist."

The inhuman nodded, impressed. "So then I'm guessing that you look this way because of an accident?"

Ivy sighed, a twinge of sadness in her voice as she responded. "You could say that…"

A loud bang made the two of them turn their heads towards the lunch line, bearing witness to one of the inmates angrily wiping the remains of a cream pie off his face as the clown prince of crime hooted loudly.

"I cannot stand that clown…"

"Me either," Tai agreed as he frowned.

The two watched the line again and Ivy's lip curled when she saw Harley skip up to Joker and kiss him on the cheek, hugging him tightly.

"Something wrong?"

The redhead blinked as if coming out of a trance before speaking, "It just makes me sick how much Harley is smitten with that maniac."

The inhuman's frown disappeared slowly as the words sunk in. "Harley and Joker are…?"

The redhead opened her mouth to reply but was soon cut off as a higher voice rang out among the cafeteria.

"Cheshire! That's where you have been slinking around!"

The Mad Hatter waved excitedly at the duo as he approached, his buck teeth seeming to widen into a smile.

"Tetch…what are you doing here?" Ivy asked with a slight annoyance.

"I just want to talk with my friend. Is that a crime?"

Friend…Tai seemed to smile at Tetch's words. He had never had someone he could call a friend. Sure, the Hatter was a bit strange but then again so was he. And besides, it would be nice to talk to someone once in a while.

"All of us being in this loony bin is a crime…" Ivy muttered as she ate a bit of her food.

"So anyways Tai…," The Mad Hatter looked around to make sure they weren't being overheard before he whispered. "You saw the Bat, right?"

The remembrance of last night's encounter with the demonic bat made Tai's blood run cold.

"Y-yeah…what's up with that thing anyways? What is it?"

Jervis' face turned into one of surprise and shock and he squeaked loudly. "You…you do not know anything about the bat?!"

All eyes seemed to turn to the group and Tai felt extremely uneasy. Under the gazes of all the twisted minds of the Gallery…he didn't know what to expect.

"H-how is that possible?" Ivy was also looking at him, a look of disbelief written on her face.

"Who doesn't know what about the flying rodent?"

The Joker was suddenly next to Tai and the inhuman jumped a bit in surprise. How did he get next to him without him realizing or hearing him?

"Tai here has never heard of the dark knight," Ivy explained to Joker, whose brow furrowed and his smile seemed to fall to a frown.

"Where in bloody blue blazes did you grow up stripes, a monastery in Tibet?"

"Something like that…" Tai never took his gaze off of the clown, not trusting where this might be going.

"Well then, it seems someone needs a little education!" Joker's grin returned and he turned to the room in front of them. "HARLEEEEEY!"

In less than a second, Harley's head popped up from somewhere in the lunch line and with a squeal of happiness, she pushed the other inmates out of the way until she was next to the clown, standing at attention next to him.

"You rang, Puddin'?"

"Kitty here must be schooled in Gotham's do-gooder in tights and his merry band of followers!"

Tetch rolled his eyes, "You don't need to make it a Broadway musical number or anything, Joker."

"Meh, Arkham probably doesn't have a big enough budget anyways…" the clown shrugged with a yawn.

By now, many of the inmates had crowded around Tai to see what was going on. One in particular waddled up to the table, his long, crooked nose almost touching Tai's arm as he leaned in slightly.

"All you need to know, cat, is that the Batman is no ordinary man!"

That monster from last night was a man? Could it have been true that such a creature of darkness was in reality a man? He looked like he could have been an inmate in this insane asylum…

"And every day that flying rat is out there, terrorizing the muggers and mob bosses alike!"

"He's like your worst nightmare that claws your mind!"

Inmate after inmate had something to add about what the Batman was and his doings; histories of encounters, scars from many battles, and tales of how he and his sidekicks had thwarted their plans time and time again.

Somewhere in the bustle of conversations, the bell to end breakfast rang and the crowd started to slowly wander back to their own buisness when the security guards came around.

Tai waited a few minutes before he stood up, not wanting to be stuck in the crowd as they made their way to the lounging areas. After all the commotion he had gone through, all this inhuman wanted to do was stay in his cell and maybe actually catch up to that sleep he had missed from thinking all night.

Looking ahead of him for a second, he witnessed Harley hug against Joker's arm tightly and nuzzle him as she skipped happily. The sight of how she was around the psychotic clown…

A pat on the back made Tai jump slightly but he soon smiled as Tetch walked next to him.

"You alright, Cheshire?"

"Yeah," Tai sighed, "I'm doing alright…just thinking."

After a bit of silence, Tetch cleared his throat and smiled. "Why don't you hang with us for a bit during recreation?"

"…Us…?"

"Oh yes! I joined a group a few days ago, nothing special really…but it would be great for someone like you to meet some new people and feel more welcome to this dismal place…."

A few seconds of thought later, Tai chuckled as he nodded. "Sure. Let's go, wouldn't mind feeling welcome here."

"Splendid!" Tetch clapped and took off his hat, pulling a teapot out of it, "You like tea, right?"


	6. An Unmerry Meeting

"I'm pleased to see most of you back today, this is the three hundredth and seventy-second day of our little meeting. "

At the supposed head of a rectangular table, an older man with a brown beard and thick glasses shuffled a few papers in front of him. Clearing his throat and adjusting his spectacles a bit, the man looked out among the small group surrounding the table with an autocratic gaze.

"Shall we take roll call?"

Not hearing any debate on the subject from the others, he picked up a red pen and placed it on the yellow paper in front of him.

"Doctor Fries?"

Mr. Freeze nodded his head in acknowledgment, "Present."

"Harvey Dent?"

Two-Face sneered, not stopping his actions of flipping his coin continuously.

"Edward Nigma?"

The Riddler, hat over his face as if he was sleeping, made a small wave of response.

"Pamela Isley?"

Poison Ivy yawned, "Here and accounted for, Strange."

"Selina Kyle?"

"You know the cat doesn't come to these meetings, good doctor," Riddler answered from under his hat, "The only reason why she came that one day was because Ivy here wanted her to show up."

Ivy rolled her eyes as Hugo Strange marked something near Miss Kyle's name and continued.

"Jarvis Tetch?"

After a few short seconds, he looked up from the paper and glanced around the room.

"Tetch? If you are here, respond please?"

As Tetch was about to be marked absent, the door creaked open and the hatter skipped into the room, a smile on his face. "Greetings, oh court of the Queen! Sorry I was late, I was pondering over many things that begin with the letter "M" and-"

"No one cares, bucky." Dent growled and stopped flipping his coin in the process.

Tetch frowned, his hands dramatically going to his hips. "Well! Seems I won't give you a un-birthday present after all, Mister Dent! I was planning to forgive you for your rudeness last time, but a Hatter never forgets!"

Strange sighed, "Enough Tetch, take your seat please."

Tetch blinked as if lost in thought for a second before walking to his seat. "Oh Absolem, do you remember when I said we should bring more members to our group?"

Strange nodded in response, making Tetch's smile widen. "Well, it just so happens I have found another card to add to our humble deck!"

"And what sort of idiot would join this group?" Riddler mumbled, placing his feet on the table.

"Well if you are here Nigma, then others should be here too." Ivy smiled innocently at Riddler, chuckling softly as she saw him glare from under his hat.

Freis looked to the doorway and frowned, "I see no one Tetch, are you sure you brought someone and didn't imagine it like last time?"

"If he says it's Alice I swear…" Dent's grip tightened on his coin as his frown deepened.

Tetch bobbed his head to the door and placed a hand to his mouth, "Oh Cheshire! No need to be shy, come on in! The tea party is just beginning!"

The room seemed to grow silent as a disgruntled Tai walked. Hugo Strange in particular raised an eyebrow at the inhuman and stood up, slowly walking to where Tai was standing.

"I take it you are the newest arrival I have heard so much about. Your reputation proceeds you."

"Well, you can't believe everything you hear nowadays..." Tai sounded relaxed, but the bluntness of his comment was obvious. However, Hugo simply chuckled and moved to the side, an arm stretched to the table, offering him to sit down. The inhuman shrugged and sat down in a chair at the opposite end of the table.

"Why do you hesitate to sit among the others? We are all friendly here," Hugo cocked his head slightly from his chair.

"Most of us anyways..." Riddler chuckled, making Two-Face growl intimidatingly in his direction.

"Yeah hun, we don't bite..." Ivy licked her lips teasingly and winked, "...hard."

For a second, Tai felt a small blush start to appear on his face but he dismissed it quickly. "I prefer the spot here, thanks. I'm sure Hugo could tell you that my popularity among others isn't exactly a friendly one."

The others cast their gaze to Strange, who simply chuckled. "If you insist...but I should warn you, inhuman: If you hide yourself from humanity, there is no way of reclaiming it among us."

The comment seemed to make some effect on the inhuman as his eyes seemed to narrow menacingly. Dr. Strange however simply smiled and continued, "The point to these sessions, as I'm sure Tetch forgot to mention, is to discuss things as civilized humans and to better ourselves. Many of our members have come and gone over the last few weeks, but the ones you see in this room are those who truly wish to change who they are."

"For example," Hugo looked in the direction of Mister Freeze, "Dr. Fries is trying to go back into the scientific community. He thinks that his ability to withstand cold can help scientific fields located in the arctics. And even the notorious Harvey Dent wants to reclaim a bit of sanity to re-run for politics and courtroom justice."

At this point, Strange adjusted some papers and looked at Tai, "Since you are new to the group, I'm assuming that all of us here want to know about you. Would you mind sharing?"

Tai remained silent, his gaze never leaving the doctor's own.

Strange bit his lip slightly and his brow furrowed, "Any hobbies? Lifestyle? Family?"

More silence.

Riddler adjusted his hat and peeked out at Tai, his eyes squinted as he looked him up and down. "I think, good doctor, that the kitty is shy to share on a touchy subject. Perhaps one of us should start first?"

Isley reclined in her chair and sighed, "I may as well break the ice and start. My name is Pamela Lillian Isley, also known as Poison Ivy among the villainous and heroic alike. I became what you see before you due to a...science experiment gone wrong."

At that, Pam smirked as she continued, "I'm a botanist by trade and my unique ability is based around controlling plants."

"She also has a pheromone-fueled talent for seduction...which is why no one likes talking to her much," Dent chuckled as he flipped his coin again. However, this time the coin was snatched out of the air by Freeze who glared at him through he thick glass of his suit.

"You are one to talk, Dent. You and your constant talk of two-sided justice gives everyone a headache we'd like to forget."

"You wanna give that coin back before someone gets hurt, Fries?" Dent's face contorted into a hideous snarl as he leaned across the table ad made a move to punch the glass surrounding Fries' head. Freeze however was faster and he moved out of the way in the nick of time, grabbing Dent's arm in a defensive maneuver.

"Gentlemen! Stop this foolishness! You call yourselves civilized?!"

Dent looked at Strange and spat in his direction, "Screw you and your meetings! I'm not about to be one-upped by Frosty here!"

As Two-Face went to smack Fries' helmet with a solid punch, it was stopped inches from the glass suddenly. With a look of malice, Dent turned his face to the one who stopped his blow and was mildly surprised to see Tai's face locking eyes with him; the inhuman's feline eyes narrowed in a way that was slightly unnatural as he sat in a perfect crouch on the tips of his toes like a ninja.

Tetch fell out of his seat and scurried behind Riddler, holding his hat over his head to avoid the conflict that might be ensuing. Riddler himself only raised an eyebrow at how quick Tai had gotten from point A to point B so fast.

"Tai...let him go!" Strange yelled from his place at the table, "This has gone on long enough!"

Snarling, Dent tried to free his arm from Tai's grip and growled as it only tightened. Surprisingly, the inhuman was tougher then he thought and he could feel those clawed hands digging deeper into his flesh.

A noise of footsteps suddenly echoed through the room as three heavily armed security guards burst into the room, making everyone but Hugo Strange jump in a slight panic. Two of the guards grabbed Harvey Dent and pulled him away from Tai, dragging the man towards the door as he fought against them. Before Tai realized what was going on, he heard something whistle through the air behind him. Instinctively, he ducked in time to miss a blow from a nightstick one of the guards was carrying and returned the assailant with a punch to the face mask as he turned, the two ending up on the ground in a struggle.

"Tai, behind you!"

Hearing Tetch's voice, Tai lost his focus and the guard pressed something to his neck and pressed down on a button on the device. A searing, burning pain flowed through Tai's entire body and he screamed in agony as his whole body went numb. The guard kicked him off and whacked him in the head with the device...and Tai's vision went black.


	7. A Few Hours Later

**(( Whew! Finally have time to upload a new chapter! Im sorry this took so long everyone, I wanted the rest of the story to be just right and it made me not post it until it was as perfect as I could make it. Also been reeeeally busy outside of school due to work and personal stuff...but I have not forgotten you, dear fans and readers alike! And I promise to finish this series with the most perfect of chapters I can give you!))**

The room was larger than his usual cell, however it still felt like one with the ever un-emotional Hugo Strange staring from across the room. For the first few minutes, no one said a word.

Finally, the silence was broken by Strange as he stroked his bearded chin, a frown deepening on his face.

"You know, you should not pick fights with other inmates, especially some as dangerous as Two-Face.."

Tai responded with a huff, his eyes never changing their narrowed glare. Something about this guy just poked the wrong buttons...and that may have been the doctor's intent.

"...However, circumstances as they were back there, a simple 'thank you' would do."

Strange was obviously referring to when security had rushed in to break up him and Harvey's struggle. Before the guards could proceed to beat the poor inhuman senseless, Strange had made an effort to stay their hand, taking Tai's side in the whole affair on how it was an act of self-defense and that, in some way, his good act may rub off on the other inmates.

The inhuman felt the burn that was on his neck, wincing from the wound's still throbbingly painful scar. He supposed Strange had a point: he DID help him out of a possibly bad spot and it was respectful to thank someone for that kind of stuff in life. So he did, bowing his head and upper body in a show of gratitude.

Strange surprisingly returned the bow with his head and smirked, "Well now that that is out of the way...I would like to once again ask some questions about you if you don't mind?"

Tai was about to respond but he hesitated as Strange picked up a clipboard and showed him the contents. "These are all for our records, you understand. Everyone is asked these questions and in time, we do find out everything..."

A shiver went down his spine as he heard Strange's last remark; was the doctor seriously threatening him...or was it a warning?

"Sorry Doctor..," Tai leaned back in his chair, arms crossed. "But I'd rather keep my personal buisness to myself and myself alone."

Hugo Strange simply shrugged and placed the clipboard aside, a look of annoyance on his face. But it quickly disappeared as he crossed his fingers together and rested his chin on them, his elbows on the table as he leaned forward.

Even more silence followed...somewhere down the hall from where they sat, a leaky water pipe dripped onto the stone floor below, an eerie ping that rang through the lower halls of the asylum.

"It would be wise, young inhuman, to realize the thin ice you are treading."

Tai raised his own eyebrow, not understanding what the doctor was saying.

"This asylum runs its operations to better those who are mentally unstable or insane as well as those who are 'unfit' for even the lowest forms of normal society. We do what we must to help these people in the best ways we can afford to give them...and that only happens through trust and the choices the staff AND the inmates must make."

The doctor adjusted his glasses before continuing, the glare from the light above on the ceiling making him seem more like a spectre than a human being, his sharp, focused eyes glinting. Tai leaned in more, surprisingly intrigued by what the older man was saying.

"There are times when one must forget everything else and make certain choices; no matter the situation, the choices we make are what lead our very lives, and sometimes the wrong ones can have drastic reprecussions. I do not know what may happen due to your decisions earlier today...however I imploy you to be on your guard, young Tai...there are those that take choices and make others pay the price for it, while others seek revenge for the choices made against them."

It was a warning after all...there had no doubt about it now. Wether it was in good spirit or one of just uncaring bluntness, he was not sure. But the truth to his words rang in Tai's mind like an echo.

"But now the question stands, boy..." Hugo locked eyes with Tai again, his voice lowering so only he could hear what had to be said.

"What will your choices be?"


End file.
